DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

People with disabilities are often marginalized. They get overlooked, are forgotten or ignored. My friend Logan hasMiller Syndrome – an incredibly rare genetic disorder affecting fewer than thirty people worldwide.I've known Logan since we were in grade school, growing up in Mormon families in a suburb of Salt Lake City. Our friendship began in art class, where we bonded over our shared love of art-making. Of course, Logan was clearly different – his physical appearance brought stares - but we never discussed his condition. He was in denial about his differences and it would be years before he would open up to me about his struggles with Miller Syndrome.After high school we lost touch. I became a dad, got married and moved to California to study filmmaking. Logan studied graphic design and began to make stylized paintings of flowers. In 2006, we reunited at the gallery where he was having his first one-man art show. I was thrilled to see that he had continued to pursue the arts. We began long conversations about our goals as artists.Logan confided an idea he’d had to make a series of autobiographical paintings. For me, it demonstrated how far he’d come since high school. Being able to talk about his disease brought us closer as friends. We talked about collaborating on a video project as he felt there were limitations with painting that the moving image could overcome. In 2008, I spent a night taping Logan as he painted in his apartment. I was struck by how open and honest he was on camera. The resulting short film became the genesis for the current feature-length project.Eventually, I was able to gather enough resources to spend a week shadowing Logan as he went about his daily routine and continued to make his self-portrait paintings. Whenever I traveled to Utah I would bring a camera and spend time with Logan, amassing hours of compelling footage."Syndrome Psychology" opened at Art Access Gallery on April 18, 2014 – showcasing Logan’s autobiographical paintings. Over six years of painting went into this body of work. Each piece explores in vivid detail, an aspect of Logan's life, both physically and psychologically. His artmaking has been the backbone of the film - as each piece invites the viewer into Logan's world.Logan's paintings invite the viewer to stare at his physical deformities. They are confrontational and challenging, but they also open the door to an important dialogue. He is in a unique position to honestly address what it's like to have a genetic birth defect and a form of high-functioning autism. Sharing his story is very important to Logan and he hopes it can enlighten and inspire people. He sees this film as his legacy, something that will remain even after he is gone.Ultimately, this is a film that goes far beyond mere disability. It shatters everything we think we know about being disabled, while ultimately reaffirming what it means to be human. As Logan says: “Everyone suffers”.